By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host
Between Tacoma and Olympia, Washington, an AMTRAK (government operated) train derailed. 83 persons were on board. So far at least six have been reported dead, with 77 transported to local hospitals. The train, after it derailed, slammed into lanes on Interstate 5.
The train was the first to follow a new route established for the purpose of being safer, and more rapid. The new route created removed some of the curves of the journey, and was designed to shorten the time of the service along Puget Sound, and enabling a high speed rail system to link Seattle to Portland. A similar project is underway in California between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Because of the railway cars spilling onto the freeway and striking various vehicles, it is estimated that the death toll will rise significantly. The cause of the derailment remains unknown.
It has been suggested that the train struck something on the tracks prior to derailment. The speed of the train was 81.1 mph shortly before the derailment.
While there is currently no evidence of any terrorism, the specter of the possibility does hang in the air regarding this accident. After all, last August it was reported that in an issue of a magazine in the Middle East, al-Qaeda, through the article "names Amtrak's D.C. to Boston Acela Express and several other specific passenger rail lines in the United States as prime targets for their new focus on train derailment operations that the group says has been more than a year in the planning stages...The article focuses on metro trains operating within cities, regional routes serving population-dense corridors, and long-distance trains with remote tracks that are impossible to fully police. Trains can be attacked by targeting the cars, the stations or the tracks; the article focuses on the last, stressing that the method makes suicide operations unnecessary and the same person can return to strike more lines if not captured."
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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